Electronic devices, including televisions, have been controlled using buttons that are located on the devices and that are associated with pre-set functions. Also remote controllers were developed to allow users to operate the devices while the users are positioned beyond their physical reach of the buttons on the units. However the remote controllers frequently are cumbersome to use and often are not particularly intuitive. Moreover the remote controllers are easily misplaced, require battery replacement and provide a means for germs to be transmitted between users. More recently, the use of hand gestures to control virtual cursors and other objects in electronic device displays has been proposed. But these approaches suffer from a difficulty in their use.